The Case of the Purple Popsicle
by Stoked-55
Summary: silly little fluffy fic NS


A/N: Hey guys. This is a harmless, mindless, plotless little drabble that my mind spat out while I was eating a Popsicle at my cottage one fine sunny day this summer. Hope it entertains you!  
  
***  
  
"Hey Nicky! You busy?"  
  
Nick looked up from his microscope to see that Catherine had popped her head into the lab he was working in and instantly noticed her mischievious grin and the glint in her eye. He couldn't help but give her a small suspicious grin.  
  
"Kinda yeah," he said cautiously. He knew Catherine Willows too well. "What's up?"  
  
"Warrick and I need you for an experiment. It may help us solve our case." She waggled her eyebrows at him.  
  
Nick thought for a moment. "I dunno Cath, I'd like to help but I'm up to my ears in these fibers from my case with Grissom and shift's almost over."  
  
"Aw come on please? It'll only take five minutes, ten max," she practically begged. "I'll even give you a Popsicle," she tempted, holding a Popsicle up between her thumb and index finger and waggling it at him.  
  
This caught Nick's attention for a brief moment. Was that grape? A grape Popsicle sounded really good. but, what the hell?  
  
"That may have worked when I was six," he said, squinting his eyes at her. "Just what exactly are you up to Ms. Willows?"  
  
"Me? Nothing," Catherine said feigning innocence. "It's all in the name of science I swear." She gave a wide smile.  
  
"Yeah right," he chuckled, pulling off his latex gloves and dropping them on his desk. "Alright, alright but I'm holding you to that Popsicle."  
  
Nick obediently followed Catherine down the hallway to the break room. They entered just in time to see Warrick literally dragging Sara in through the door.  
  
"Come on Warrick, cut it out," Sara was whining, halfheartedly trying to pry her wrist from Warrick's grasp. "I've got work to do!"  
  
"Cath and I need your help," Warrick stated, getting behind her and lightly pushing her all the way into the room. "Grissom can live without you for ten minutes."  
  
Sara was about to bite Warrick's head off for that remark when she noticed Nick standing beside Catherine.  
  
"They got you too huh?" she asked, glaring accusingly at their colleagues. "How did they lure you in?"  
  
"I get a Popsicle," Nick said grinning and pointing at the frozen treat in Catherine's hand.  
  
Sara's mood brightened slightly. "A Popsicle? Ooh, do I get one?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"What? No fair!" Sara protested.  
  
"Sorry Sara," Catherine explained. "For the purposes of this experiment only one of you gets to eat it and I already promised it to Nicky." She handed it to Nick, who eagerly began to pull the paper off.  
  
"What a rip off," Sara grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff.  
  
"Hee, hee," Nick giggled gleefully as he munched away on his Popsicle, his lips teeth and tongue slowly turning a deep purple. "Poor Sara, she doesn't get one."  
  
"Oh, shut up Nick," Sara said with a huff. "You've got purple juice running down your chin."  
  
Nick's goofy grin fell from his face replaced by a sheepish one as he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his lab coat leaving a purple stain. Sara rolled her eyes.  
  
Nick finished his tasty treat and Catherine gathered the sticks from him, handing them to Warrick who put them in a labeled bindle.  
  
"Say 'aah', Nicky," Catherine instructed, holding up her penlight. He did as he was told, opening his mouth and sticking his tongue out. "Good boy, your entire mouth looks like Barney," she said taking a swab.  
  
"Barney?" Sara queried, puzzled by Catherine's reference.  
  
"Barney. The purple dinosaur," Nick clarified, licking his sticky fingers. "Sheesh Sara, you really need to get caught up in the world of children's entertainment."  
  
Sara just stared at him. "You watch far too much television."  
  
She shook her head and turned to Warrick and Catherine. "Do I get anything out of this experiment of yours, besides a 'Barney' lesson?"  
  
Both Catherine and Warrick got looks on their faces and exchanged a glance that she wasn't sure she liked.  
  
"You sure do," Warrick said, seeming as if he was trying very hard not to smile.  
  
"Okay," she said slowly, now very suspicious. "Well I have other things that need to get done so what is it?"  
  
"You get a kiss from Nick," Catherine said lightly, labeling her swab and removing her gloves.  
  
"What?!" Sara exclaimed, her eyes wide.  
  
Nick stared hard at Catherine, his brain taking a few seconds longer than Sara's to compute what she had just said. "Wh-what?"  
  
Nick and Sara looked at each other than back at Catherine and Warrick. "WHAT?!" they demanded simultaneously.  
  
"Okay, here's the deal," Catherine explained, her voice calm and rational. "We need to determine if color transfer from a purple Popsicle is possible from a kiss. So go ahead, knock yourselves out."  
  
They stared at her motionless, speechless. Nick just looked worried and Sara looked like she was being spoken to in a foreign language.  
  
"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life!" she yelled.  
  
"Look guys, we know this sounds far fetched," Warrick said, his tone serious. "But Cath and I are really stuck on this case and this is our only lead. We really need you to help us out."  
  
"Well, why didn't you two do it then?" Nick asked, finally finding his voice.  
  
"Too late now," Catherine piped up. "You ate our only Popsicle.  
  
"But-..." Nick's mouth moved but he was at a loss for words again. Damn his sweet tooth.  
  
"You kiss him then!" Sara said, pointing at Nick.  
  
"I can't, I have to make observations," Catherine said and winked at Nick. "Plus, I think having Nicky's tongue in my mouth might be more than a little distracting." Nick's cheeks turned scarlet and his eyes dropped, suddenly finding his shoes fascinating.  
  
"A French kiss?!" Sara exclaimed.  
  
"Well obviously," Warrick stated.  
  
"Okay that's it, no way. I'm not doing it."  
  
"Me neither," Nick piped up. "You know, this could be construed as sexual harassment."  
  
"Oh, come on guys!" Catherine said, rolling her eyes. "Good God it's just a kiss, what is the big deal? I'm not asking you to do the naked pretzel, just a little kiss. You are two consenting adults, so for heaven's sake just suck it up!"  
  
Warrick had to bite the insides of his cheeks to keep from bursting out laughing at Catherine's pun. His two colleagues on the other hand looked as if they were about to kill them both.  
  
"I hardly think I would use the word 'consenting'" Sara grumbled.  
  
"It think it's pretty obvious that you're not getting out of this," Warrick told them with a smirk. "So you're just wasting time."  
  
Nick was about to argue when Sara interrupted him.  
  
"Fine."  
  
Three sets of wide eyes turned to her.  
  
"Well come on!" she said impatiently. "I've got work to do. Get that purple mouth of yours over here Stokes."  
  
Very cautiously, inch-by-inch Nick made his way over to where Sara was standing. He watched her carefully waiting for her to make the first move and tried to remind himself to keep breathing. He noticed she was more nervous than she was letting on and for some reason this put him more at ease. He still wasn't sure whether he wanted to kill his friends for putting him up to this or to jump for joy.  
  
Now that Nick was standing right in front of her, some of Sara's bravado was starting to fall away and she opened and closed her fists at her sides nervously. She gulped then looked up and met his eyes, her eyes softening under his kind gaze. It wasn't that she minded the idea of kissing Nick so much, in fact she really liked the idea. But for their first kiss to be under the scrutiny of Warrick and Catherine in the lab she wasn't too sure about.  
  
"Okay," Sara said, still trying to keep her cool. "Um, are you closing your eyes?"  
  
Procrastinate now, don't put it off.  
  
Nick blinked. "Uh, I hadn't really thought about it. Do you want me to?"  
  
"Yes. Well I mean, if you want to," she stammered.  
  
"Okay," he said. "Anything else?"  
  
"I don't know. Can you think of anything?"  
  
"Uh, no, not really. Oh, wait!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Where should I put my hands?"  
  
"Well, I think it's pretty obvious where you are not putting them! That is if you don't want to lose them."  
  
"Right."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Okay."  
  
She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Go."  
  
Catherine and Warrick were unaware that they were both leaning forward in eager anticipation and had ceased breathing. It was so quiet in the break room you could hear a pin drop.  
  
Nick looked deep into Sara's eyes, and slowly reached up to brush a strand of hair off her forehead. He saw her hesitation starting to build and knew that if he wanted to do this he had to do it quickly before he lost his nerve or she changed her mind, but he found it hard to take his eyes away. He licked his lips in anticipation, drawing her eyes to his mouth.  
  
"Okay, I don't know if I can do this guys," Sara said but didn't get any further because Nick's hands gently cradled the sides of her face.  
  
"It's okay," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear, his thumbs stroking her cheeks.  
  
Catherine gripped Warrick's forearm tightly. He was silently urging his friends on, his fist clutching the arm of his chair. This was it, the moment of truth.  
  
They searched each other's eyes once more. Nick saw her slight consenting nod and leaned in, softly brushing his lips against hers. After a moment she responded, tentative at first and giggled when she tasted the sweet grape flavor on his lips. He pulled away to look at her questioningly but her hand went to his neck, urging him down to kiss her again and he readily complied. Her lips were soft and felt almost hot against his mouth that was still cool from the Popsicle. As they both started to relax he felt his courage build itself up. Gently he let his tongue taste her lips and she opened her mouth to him. They took turns exploring, confidently tasting and teasing, their tongues meeting in a soft sensuous dance. Nick stepped closer and let his arms circle her waist and Sara's fingers slid into his hair. Maybe this wasn't so terrible after all.  
  
Catherine smiled widely and looked at Warrick who wore a matching grin on his face.  
  
'Wow', she mouthed to him.  
  
He offered his hand and she shook it.  
  
"A job well done partner," he whispered in her ear.  
  
Nick and Sara finally came out of their own little world, softly breaking their kiss but remaining in their embrace.  
  
"Damn," Nick whispered breathlessly, making Sara smile.  
  
She noticed that Catherine and Warrick were still sitting at the table and were smiling widely at them.  
  
Sara stepped away from Nick, a bright pink blush spreading across her cheeks. "Sorry, I think maybe we got a little carried away."  
  
She looked back at Nick and giggled slightly embarrassed, her fingers coming up to her lips. He smiled coyly, his ears starting to burn.  
  
"No, no, that was perfect," Catherine quickly assured them. She stepped forward and took a swab from Sara's mouth. Nick watched this and smiled again when Sara's eyes met his.  
  
"Thanks a lot guys," Warrick said, also standing and collecting his things. "You were a big help."  
  
"We'll let you know if we get the guy," Catherine promised and followed Warrick out into the hall.  
  
This left Sara and Nick alone in a somewhat awkward silence. They both spoke at once.  
  
"That was-"  
  
"Would you-"  
  
They both chuckled uneasily.  
  
"Sorry, what were you going to say?" Sara asked.  
  
"No you go ahead, please."  
  
She smiled shyly fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "I was just going to say that was one hell of a kiss Nicky. I'll never look at grape Popsicles the same way again."  
  
Nick grinned and stepped forward, planting a soft sweet kiss on her lips. He felt her smile.  
  
"Your turn," she said, looking at him questioningly.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, um listen. I know this is kinda backwards, the date is traditionally supposed to come before the kiss but," he took a deep breath. "Would you like to go out with me Sara?"  
  
Sara didn't answer, just pulled his head down for another kiss.  
  
"Can I take that as a yes?" he mumbled against her mouth. She just laughed.  
  
Catherine was able to contain herself until they got outside then broke into loud laughter.  
  
"Shh, Catherine shut up," Warrick said through his own giggles. "They'll hear you!"  
  
He went over to the garbage can and tossed the swabs and Popsicle sticks inside.  
  
"They totally fell for it!" she managed to say clutching her stomach, tears forming in her eyes from laughing so hard. "I can't believe they fell for it!"  
  
Warrick couldn't help but give in and soon the two were weak from laughing and had earned many strange looks from people entering and exiting the building. They finally regained control of themselves.  
  
"Man I can't believe they were that easy," Warrick said, resting his hands on his knees to try and catch his breath.  
  
Catherine sighed happily from where she was leaning against the wall. "Yeah, but we'd better get out of here before they figure it out, Cupid."  
  
"Yeah cause you know we're gonna get it."  
  
They went to their respective Tahoes and headed home, wide grins still plastered on their faces.  
  
Meanwhile back inside, Grissom was striding down the hallways looking for his two missing CSIs. He poked his head in the break room and finally found Nick and Sara standing together, talking quietly.  
  
"There you are," he stated startling them both. "Where the hell have you two been? We still have a murder to solve."  
  
"Uh, sorry Griss. We were just helping out Warrick and Catherine with an experiment for their case," Nick rushed to explain.  
  
"What case?" Grissom asked puzzled. Was Nick blushing?  
  
"Their Popsicle case," Sara said matter-of-factly.  
  
He looked at her as though she had gone nuts. "I think the overtime is starting to get to you. Both of you."  
  
"No really, ask them," Sara protested.  
  
"It's true," Nick backed her up.  
  
"Guys, Catherine and Warrick wrapped their case up an hour ago," Grissom said. "I sent them home already."  
  
The room was quiet for a few moments while this information sank in and Nick and Sara realized what happened.  
  
"I'll kill them," she growled and took off without further explanation, brushing past Grissom and out the door.  
  
"Sara! What the-"  
  
"Would you excuse us for a second Grissom?" Nick asked as he ran by his boss and after Sara down the hall. He was definitely going to kill them.  
  
Grissom was left standing clueless in the break room. Noticing something on the floor he bent down and picked up a crumpled piece of paper with his pen. Looking it over he realized it was a Popsicle wrapper and frowned.  
  
"Hey.who ate my Popsicle?"  
  
THE END 


End file.
